'Maybe one of those wasters who teach English as a foreign language instead of working for a living'.
Quoted from the book 'My favourite wife' by Tony Parsons.

I might be one of those 'wasters' soon as well. I had a meeting with Joe today, the recruiter from New Start China College. Joe, a tiny, short, boyish girl with spiked hair, explained to me that teachers are expected to teach English from 9.00 - 11.30 am and from 2 - 4.30 pm. At 11.30 am, lunch will be served (early!) and at 5.30 pm dinner will be served. Guess where the food will be served? On the roof terrace, just like McK! The main focus of the classes is on speaking and listening. Joe invited me to join Katy's class, a 29-year old Belgian lady. There were only 4 (!) students in her class. Joe told me that this was elementary level - which surprised. The English of the teacher surprised me as well. Her pronunciation was better than her students', but it wasn't English-English. She didn't do much either. I chatted with her after class - in Dutch (!) - and she told me that she doesn't have a teaching degree nor a TEFL certificate. She doesn't really prepare for her classes either. All she does, is download teaching material from the internet and then she lets her students talk. What?!? Do you call that teaching??? I also met two other foreign language teachers and they told me exactly the same story. Apparently, most foreigners go to Yangshuo to practise martial arts. Teaching English is just an easy way to make a living over here. I stayed until 5.30 pm and had a bowl of rice with the other teachers. I'll be going to the New Start China College again tomorrow night for an 'English Corner Session'. It's a good way for students to talk English in an informal setting. I'll have demonstrate my teaching skills on Friday afternoon. One of the teachers advised me not to worry about it and not to be too strict in class. He probably didn't realise that he presented me with two challenges....!

On my way to the New Start China College, I walked past the Outdoor English College, the other school that I had been in touch with before I left. I walked inside and addressed the first person I ran into, which happened to be Mr. Simon Ou, the president of the school. When he heard me talking, he demanded me to leave my hotel and move into one of the teacher's dorms. Excuse me? He was clearly interested in hiring me, but something told me not to accept his offer. I told him I'd think about it and be back. When I asked the teachers at the New Start China College what they knew about the other schools in the region, they said:'Most schools are OK, but you should stay away from the Outdoor English College'. Katy used to work for Mr. Ou and she told me quite a few unpleasant stories about him. Her stories confirmed that my gut feeling had been right...

Now let me tell you something about Yangshuo, the Chinese and their food. Yangshuo is a beautiful town (I know I've said this before!), but it's also very touristy and extremely HOT. One step outside of my hotel room and I'm sweating. Yuk! The Chinese are friendly, but also quite direct. The first thing Joe asked was:'Are you tired? You look tired'. I thought Dutch people were known for being direct! Another unpleasant surprise: the Chinese eat with their mouth open. I find that very gross. And what they eat, isn't really my cup of tea either.... The Chinese eat a lot of pork, beef, minced meat, noodles, eggs, creamy sauces and junk food. Yangshuo has a McDonald's AND a KFC. The funny thing is, that the locals go to fast food places and the foreigners go to Chinese restaurants! So far, I've had trouble finding food that I like and that I can eat. Fresh fruit is hard to find and so are vegetables. You can buy fruit in the supermarket, but it's either dried or squeezed into juice - and it contains a lot of added sugar. What's wrong with the real stuff? Luckily, I have a lot of 'ontbijtkoek' with me (hence the heavy suitcase!!), so I'll survive.

Guess where I am now? In the hotel lobby with 4 Chinese people who offered me Chinese tea, watermelon and peanuts when I entered the hotel. We tried to have a conversation - even though they don't speak English and I don't speak Chinese - and we had a lot of fun trying to understand each other! They were impressed when they taught me how to count in Chinese, haha! I hope I'll still remember it tomorrow!

Good night!